When you understand motivation, you finally take the training wheels off on your ride to success.

If you can actually hone in on why we do the things that we do, there’s no limit to what you can achieve. Without motivation, even the smallest tasks feel gargantuan. But, with motivation, there comes an overflow of focus and energy that puts conquering great feats on automatic.

We’ve all done it. There’s something we say we want to accomplish… something with our fitness, our career, our relationship, etc… but our actions don’t really match up to the result we say we want. Maybe we started with ample motivation in the beginning, but it has shriveled up like it’s too cold outside. We typically try again with similar results, or just give up and tell ourselves that the goal wasn’t that important to begin with. Motivation wains, and with it, so does our results.

The well known phrase “you are what you eat” isn’t entirely accurate. This is because everything you eat doesn’t become “you”. And thank goodness for that!

A lot of what you eat doesn’t make the cut as far as building materials, and it has to be eliminated. If that eliminatory process is hindered in any way, trouble starts brewing fast. Your digestion, assimilation, and elimination is the very foundation of your health. Yet, the elimination factor isn’t talked about nearly enough today. Poo is taboo, and it’s becoming a big problem.

So many chronic illnesses are tied to poor elimination. Obvious things like constipation and hemorrhoids, but also not-so-obvious things like chronic fatigue and cancer. Today we’re covering some of the big issues with conventional methods of poop behavior (this might be the first time that “poop behavior” has been written, by the way), plus one of the most remarkable solutions that’s already helping countless people improve their health. Bobby Edwards is leading the charge in the mission to get folks educated about elimination, and he’s here today to share his family’s story, plus some game-changing insights that can support your health for a lifetime.

Do you remember the scene in the movie The Matrix where the main character Neo wakes up from his incubated sleep covered in pink goo? It wasn’t the goo that was alarming (strangely enough) it was the fact that he woke up to a very different reality than the one he believed in. He thought that his decisions were his own, he thought that he was free to choose his beliefs and path in life, and he thought that he was free. The truth was that it was all an illusion, and his mind had been hacked by those who saw fit to use him. But hey… that’s just an interesting movie plot isn’t it? Nothing like that could ever happen in real life… right?

Today you’re going to hear from neuroendocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Robert Lustig about what he refers to as The Hacking of the American Mind. Now, this hacking isn’t reserved solely for Americans, it’s a phenomenon that’s shared amongst all of the developed nations in the world, and rapidly percolating its way into the undeveloped world as well. Dr. Lustig makes the case that many of the things we’ve accepted as normal are anything but. For example, you may think that you have the freewill to choose the food that you eat, the entertainment you consume, and the beliefs you uphold, but there’s a bigger story behind the scenes. And this story has a lot to do with battle between pleasure and happiness.

How often do you read good fiction books? There was a stretch of maybe half a decade where I, although an avid reader, avoided reading any fiction because I believed that it was not productive. I read countless nutrition books, books on fitness, books on personal development, and more. They all contained a lot of facts and theories (which were great) but I was missing on something really special for my life.

Luckily, a few years back after the poking and prodding or several people, I picked up a book called The Alchemist and it shined a bright light in a part of my mind that I had been neglecting. Little did I know that there was significant research touting the benefits of reading fiction. You can see marked changes in the brain, bolstered creativity, and so much more that the average person isn’t informed about. My rekindled love of fiction eventually led me to one of my favorite authors, Dan Millman, which is why I’m so excited to share this with you today! One of Dan’s books, that I read several years ago, still sits on my nightstand to this day (well, until I picked it up and brought it to the studio with me to record this).

The word “craving” has a lot of meanings in our language. To sum it all up, it can range from a small internal whisper, to a deep, burning desire for something. We can crave achievement, love, drugs, food, and so much more. In fact, cravings are at an all-time high today. There are more things than ever to crave, more access to them, and more things designed to keep you coming back.

Today we’re going to dissect what cravings actually are. You’re going to understand the science of cravings and be able to see them in a whole new way. You’re also going to find that cravings are not so black and white as many health experts have made them out to be. There can be 50 shades of grey for cravings (please don’t take that analogy too far like my mind just did) and this powerhouse episode is all about learning how to traverse them. Cravings will come and cravings will go, but there’s a special message inside of each of them. So, click play, take good notes, and enjoy!

Shawn Stevenson is a bestselling author and creator of The Model Health Show, featured as the #1 Health podcast on iTunes with millions of listener downloads each year. A graduate of The University of Missouri - St. Louis, Shawn studied business, biology, and kinesiology, and went on to be the founder of Advanced Integrative Health Alliance, a company that provides wellness services for individuals and organizations worldwide. Shawn has been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, Men's Health magazine, ESPN, FOX News, and many other major media outlets. He is also a frequent keynote speaker for numerous organizations, universities, and conferences. Click here to learn more about Shawn